Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves (22 September 1515-16 July 1557) was Queen consort of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Henry found her unattractive, and the marriage went unconsummated before it was annulled just six months later.

Biography
Anne of Cleves was born in Dusseldorf, Duchy of Berg, Holy Roman Empire on 22 September 1515, the daughter of Duke John III of Cleves and Maria of Julich-Berg, and the sister of William of Julich-Cleves-Berg. In 1527, she was betrothed to Francis, the heir to Lorraine, but the betrothal was cancelled in 1535 due to the youth of the betrothed. In 1539, King Henry VIII of England's chief minister Thomas Cromwell pushed King Henry to marry Anne in order to secure an alliance with the Protestant league against the Holy Roman Empire and France, which allied against England at Pope Paul III's instigation. Cromwell had ambassador John Hutton lie about her appearance in order to make her more appealing to King Henry, and Henry was excited about her arrival in England on 1 January 1540.

Marriage
However, Henry was unpleasantly surprised by Anne, whom he found unattractive. Anne lacked the education and cultural sophistication that King Henry desired, and Henry claimed that she looked like a horse, despite many saying that she had a lovely face. Despite Henry's very vocal misgivings, the two were married on 6 January 1540 in Greenwich by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. The marriage went unconsummated, as Henry refused to have sex with her on their wedding night. On 24 June, Henry commanded her to leave the court, and Anne consented to an annulment, which was executed on 9 July on the grounds of non-consummation and pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. She received Richmond Palace and Hever Castle, and she died an obscure death at Chelsea Manor in 1557 at the young age of 41.